As originally published in JALT Quarterly, June 2001 and JHISHI, 2001

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E N G L I S H I N T E R M E D I A R Y C U L T U R A L

A S A N F O R C R O S S S T U D I E S

By Bryan Hall
I taught in Japan for a year, five years ago. I had developed and interest in eastern philosophies and cultures. I taught EFL at a local company and developed a personal interest in Japanese people. The EFL teacher is sometimes used almost as a therapist. I also lived with a Japanese family for the summer and had an intimate opportunity with them and later with two other families. I began to read Japanese literature in translation. Certainly, reading a text in your native language is the most satisfying, but I soon realized that anyone could learn only one other language plus their own, particularly English and experience the whole of world literature. I live and teach EFL in Japan again now, but I lived in Costa Rica for two years after living in Japan the first time, during which I taught World and Contemporary Literature at an international school to English college-bound seniors. They were native Spanish speakers and even after 14 years of English study, they had a resistance to the perceived language imperialism. I had a great opportunity as they gave me full latitude in developing the new curriculum for the course. They just gave me a main textbook and let me go. The students represented a unique

challenge that I had never confronted with other lower level EFL students. They needed to experience the same philosophical understanding of English literature as native speakers and they were certainly capable. They had to that point studied only texts that originated in English and we continued to cover the classics, but they accepted the notion that English had become, despite competition, the universal language when we began to study world literature in translation. They saw that it was the language that had incorporated other languages, and that the cultures that spoke native English, were of the greatest diversity when compared to other languages. I suggested that it had to be some language, why not English? The alternative was to learn every language directly and probably superficially and to never have the ability to experience other cultures deeply. We studied all the great philosophical literatures as foundations of their respective cultures, but it was the Asian, particularly Japanese literature that gave me the most tools to establish an interest. They appreciate the contrasts and found there was much more in common than different. They were especially impressed that a Japanese woman had authored the worlds first novel, Tales of the Genji, Lady Murasaka One day I introduced Haiku, Tanka and Chinese Shih poetry as examples of the use of controlled form not by rhyme but by rhythm. The Spanish cultures value rhythm highly, but it was the ease at which they recognized the similar pronunciation rules that gave them confidence. Not that I was teaching Japanese, but I used these factors to have them experience the haiku at a syllabic level. They read the Japanese in romaji with great ease, then we read the poems in English. They saw the relationship between strict form in literature and the strict hierarchy they had learned about from eastern philosophy. We discussed the relationship between the poetry and Bonsai gardening for example, that both existed in nature but just as mans nature is to change nature and to conform it to their needs, the literature had done the same. Costa Ricans also are tremendous nature lovers. They do not say hello, instead, they say pura vida (pure life). They had a strong appreciation in the concept of harmony with one another and with nature as they recognized the same from Japan. They were very inspired to create poetry within not only structures prescribed by traditional Asian forms, but we began to create structures and limitations in which they could create their own Spanish then English poems using syllable counts, word count, and even subject and word use limitations. Even with the strictest of limits, the end products were always quite beautiful and reflected the grace of nature. With this they saw that people could express their natures while conforming to whatever limitations nature presented, quite in line with Japanese thinking. When we read Kawabatas Snow Country, they saw the characters as reflections of their cultures. The students found endless metaphors in the main character, Shimamura, a traditionally educated man in conflict with himself, wanting freedom, but inextricably limited by the constraints of nature and the nature of man, even the limits of the geography of Japan. One student created a map of Japan superimposed with Shimamura lying back, Hokkaido as his head and the southernmost Japan as his feet. This was quite consistent with the personality of the character, as Kawabata described him in relation to a kotatsu (a Japanese coffee table with a blanket over it and a heat source under it). He suggested Shimamura was cold in the head and only warm from the waist down. The snow country he visited where he loved two women represented a seemingly cold, dead place, while underneath the snow laid a hot earth just waiting to burst forth its spring bounty. The student showed visually this relationship while decorating the map with descriptive words she had collected from the book. She then put this metaphorical understanding into words. She had done some research to uncover the haiku patterns that Kawabata had embedded into the original Japanese text, for example the use of pattern to compliment the description of a train going through the snow country. We even had a contest to cap off the study of pattern poetry, in which the students were given instructions for up to ten poems, each respectively more difficult in its word counts, syllable constrictions and subjects. It was predetermined that achieving a certain number of poems within a time limit would result in the award of Master that would signify their ability to demonstrate speed, elegance and grace within the limits of mans nature. They were vigorous and the poems

were well beyond technically proficient; they were exquisite. I have no doubt there was a breakthrough in their overall educational experience. The lesson of personal expression with the limits provided by nature and other people made clear their paths for career and educational decisions. They took their studies more seriously than any of their predecessors (50 years) as they broke the national record by five-percentage points on the English exam required of all Costa Ricans, an average of 98.7%, I think never to be broken. The previous record had been by the previous years class. Requests for letters of recommendation for English universities rose by double. And that class sent eighty-percent of its graduates to US and European universities, twenty-percent higher than the previous averages. I had no intention of spurring religious exploration, but throughout the remainder of the year I saw evidence of the path lessons learned from the study of Asian literature made possible only by English translation. In all of their papers they were using references to the lessons they had learned from Confucius, Buddha, and the Tao. They had incorporated these ideas into every level of their learning experience and I ended up learning as much as they did! Applying this to lower-level learners Clearly, the English level of these students may have been higher than most of the Japanese high school students that we teach here, but the lessons of work ethic, mans nature to work in structure, and the technique of creating ones own structure then working within it are all applicable at all levels. If we can provide worksheets that encourage speed, variety of self-imposed structure and superimposed structure and still suggest that this is a creative task, the students can accomplish an immediate sense of ease by using the creative side of the brain which is faster and utilizes less translation. The live performance of the poems is a great source of fun and pride and they may even appreciate some publication opportunities. As for the cross-cultural emphasis, reading some Spanish lyrics that demonstrate rhythm and similar pronunciation rules (a, e, i , o, u=same as Japanese; j=h, g=silent) then comparing them to Japanese Haiku can drive home the point that English is a necessary intermediary language for discovering commonalties and differences between cultures. These commonalties are very important to heighten interest levels, thus learning acquisition. One of the structures may even be the use of a Spanish song, but substituting English words and even starting with Japanese words which fit the rhythm, then translating into English, not only satisfying meaning translation, but rhythm as well. But it is very important not to leave it at that. Because the final phase should be the direct English creative process with a sense of urgency, stressing competition with other students, a general goal and competition with oneself. Do the activity more than once comparing the quality and speed results. Here is an example of some self-imposed structure: Poem 1) Write a poem in English that includes 3 words of any number of syllables in the first line, any number of words less than ten, each with only 3 syllables in the second line, then the same with 4 on the next 2 lines and 5 with the next 2 lines. The subject must be nature. Poem 2) Write a poem in English that talks about men in the first line and the words start with M, then E, then N. The Second line is about women, with the words that start with W, O, M, E, N. The third line uses the words man and woman. The fourth uses words that start with P, E, O, P, L, E. Poem 3) Write a poem in English that has 1 word in the first line (an Interjection), 2 in the second (Noun-Verb), 3 in the third (Pronoun-Adjective-Verb), 4 in the fourth (Noun-Adverb-VerbNoun), 5 in the fifth (Article-Noun-Verb-Adjective-Gerund Verb), 6 in the sixth (Pronoun-VerbInfinitive verb [to sing]-Article-Noun) Poem 4) The subject is Chicken or Chickens - Syllable count Line 1=10, 2=12, 3=14, 4=8, 5=8 (and rhymes with 4), 6=8 (and rhymes with 3) Do the activity yourself first to provide an example and to prove it can be done. Time yourself.

Remember, you are doing it without an example but you are a native or at least better than the students. It is not easy even for you without an example. Tell your students they have twice as much time as it took you. Those that accomplish all 4 with some level of legibility and meaning (judged by you), receive a certificate of Master Structure Poets. Put some flowery language on the Certificate and sign it, referring to yourself as an expert at judging excellence! After all is said and done. Tell them to write 4 poems and you dont care how long they are or about the structure. Some will complain that they need structure (even a majority of Costa Ricans complained; Japanese definitely will). Then note that it is easier for people to work creatively within some structure and ask them what the structure should be, choosing limited vocabulary, syllable counts and even grammar structures if they choose (they probably wont). The whole process involves many lessons in one, ordinal and cardinal numbers, syllabic awareness, work ethic, Confucius Philosophy, grammar structure, and speed to discourage translation. If you like, let the students use English only dictionaries or thesaurus if they choose. Since all the masters have approximately the same length poems, have them speed read for competition. Then have them read for intonation and interpretation. Have a champion for each. Have fun! We may be surprised at how well students do at this activity. I was, and my expectations were high. I have done this with lower level privates and they always show far more creativity than technicality. Bryan Hall is a Journalism graduate of the University of North Carolina -Chapel Hill and holds a Masters in Dramatic Writing and Fiction from the University of Southern California School of Cinema and Television. He has written fiction and non-fiction for various publications and for broadcast news agencies including CNN, NBC and PBS. He is currently teaching privately and writing fiction. Contact: bryanehall@hotmail.com